- elevation 597 m (1,959 ft) Area 17.5 km² | - location Batemans Bay Basin area 1,723 km² | |
- left Claydons Creek, Pigeon House Creek, Boyne Creek, Cockwhy Creek - right Yadboro River, Crooked Creek (Clyde River)|Crooked Creek, Bimberamala River, Currowan Creek, Buckenbowra River Similar Murramarang National Park, Pigeon House Mountain, Shoalhaven River, Brogo River, Minnamurra River | ||
The Clyde River (Aboriginal: Bhundoo) is an open intermediate tide dominated drowned valley estuary; or perennial river that flows into the Tasman Sea, located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
Contents
Map of Clyde River, New South Wales, Australia
Course and features
The Clyde River rises below Kangaroo Hill in the Budawang Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, within Budawang National Park, south of the locality of Sassafras, and flows generally southwards parallel to the east coast, joined by nine tributaries including the Bimberamala, Yadboro, and Buckenbowra rivers, before turning east and reaching its mouth of the Tasman Sea at Batemans Bay. The river descends 601 metres (1,972 ft) over its 102 kilometres (63 mi) course.
The lower reaches of the Clyde River form a substantial estuary up to 30 kilometres (19 mi) from its mouth which is navigable by small vessels to Nelligen, with a tidal ebb of up to 1.28 metres (4 ft 2 in). The coastal estuary covers a catchment area of 1,723 square kilometres (665 sq mi) and contains approximately 50,737 megalitres (1,791.8×10^6 cu ft) of water over an estimated surface area of 17.5 square kilometres (6.8 sq mi); and at an average depth of 3 metres (9.8 ft).
The river is one of the last major rivers in eastern Australia that has not been dammed.
In its upper reaches, the river forms within the Budawang National Park; while in its lower reaches, the river flows through the Clyde River National Park.
Water quality of the basin is very good. The upper catchment is heavily timbered (state forests and national parks); there is a small amount of logging in the Yadboro State Forest. There are no polluting industries in its catchment, nor any sewage outflows, and thus the river has a reputation for the cleanest, least polluted waters of any major river in eastern Australia.
Etymology
The river was known to Indigenous Australians as the Bhundo.
The river was named after the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland, by Lieutenant Robert Johnson who navigated the river aboard the cutter Snapper on 1 December 1821.